Waconia Brewing Company: An Early Preview!

In case you folks haven't been paying attention, "this craft beer thing" has really been taking off over the past few years!  There are production breweries, brewpubs, micro-breweries, nano-breweries, and more popping up all around the state of Minnesota (as they are across the United States.)  Many more are in the planning and construction stages as I write this.  Some naysayers have been decrying this boom as a fad and one that will crash like the ill-fated early 1990's brewery bust, but I think that is unlikely to happen.  This generation of craft beer drinkers is (mostly) not in it for the funny name or fancy label, but for variety and flavor.  Now nearly every bar or restaurant with a liquor license has at least a few craft beers on tap, or at least some transitional ones like Sam Adams or Blue Moon.  Many servers know their beer styles these days and some places even have full fledged Ciccerones on staff.  However with this craft beer rise, there is still only so much marketshare for that small piece of the beer-drinking pie.  The burgeoning craft beer enterprise will probably hit a certain saturation point and some of the weaker breweries (those with inferior beer or poor business sense) will likely fall by the wayside.

A way to get around this growing competition for tap-handles and shelf space is to focus more on a neighborhood or local market.  This is actually a trend that harkens back to the pre-prohibition days when nearly every town had its own brewery, before the massive consolidation of breweries into a few monolithic multinational corporations.  As a beer blogger I'm certainly seeing a trend toward this, especially out in the more distant suburbs of the Twin Cities.  Enki brewery in Victoria has already breathed new life into the sleepy downtown area, appealing to a lot of locals to fill their tap room.  Roets Jordan Brewery is poised to open this summer and aims to supply the local market in that historic city.  And now in my own town we have another contender for small local brewery on the horizon: Waconia Brewing Company!  Looking at my handy copy of Land of Sky Blue Waters by Doug Hoverson, I discovered that the last brewery in Waconia shut down between 1888-1890.  Its about time we had another!

I had heard rumblings about the brewery from a few of my sources, but information was sketchy.  Since I live in Waconia, I wanted more news!  So I stalked these poor unsuspecting entrepreneurs and invited them over for an exclusive interview for the JABlog.  I was lucky enough to get a chance to meet with Peter and Bob DeLange the other night at my bar to discuss their plans for the upcoming brewery.  Here is the scoop as of this writing.

Just who are these mysterious men who want to bring craft beer to the city of Waconia?  Bob and Peter are two of four DeLange brothers who have a history of working together when younger in a family run restaurant.  Peter and his wife Dee have been living in the area for several years and are currently building a new home in Waconia.  Bob recently moved here from Iowa with his wife Kaye and son, but we'll forgive him for that since he was smart enough to move to Minnesota!  Talking to the two of them one can easily tell they are brothers, as they share a camaraderie and comfort level with each other that can only come from being close family.  They obviously share a love of craft beer, but I was intrigued to discover that they are avid board game aficionados, even getting all four brothers together each year for several days of gaming and beer drinking.  Now that is a way to stay close to your family!  Currently Bob is in charge of organizing the construction aspects of the brewery and will be doing much of the "operations" work once the brewery opens.  Peter is doing most of the business planning.  Dee is working hard on the tap room design, branding and social media for the brewery.  Their younger brother Kevin is involved with the award winning Dry Dock brewery in Colorado, and is offering consultation on brewery design and set-up.  This is truly a family business!

When asked about the brewery itself, the two have a lot to say!  Obviously, there is still a fair amount up in the air at this stage in planning, but some decisions have been made already.  The brewery will be right downtown in Waconia, next to Unhinged Pizza, in the space that once housed a daycare center.  I can bet right now that pizza sales are going to sky-rocket!  They have already ordered their 10 barrel brew system, with 20 barrel fermenters and serving tanks.  The goal at this point is to have about half of the brewery building be taken up by a tap room and the other half for the brewery itself.  Initially they plan to focus on the taproom experience with growler sales at the brewery, but allowing room for a bottling line and distribution in the future.  They also aim to have some kegs on tap at local area bars and restaurants as well.  They hope to open in late Summer or early Fall of 2014, but construction, inspections, and licensing can sometimes throw breweries for a loop and cause delays.  I've got my fingers crossed for them to get things rolling as quickly and easily as possible!

Why Waconia?  They had asked themselves years ago, "Why does Waconia not have a brewery yet?"  Now with Bob moving to the area, this seed of an idea is becoming a reality.  They decided to name the brewery after the city of Waconia because, according to Peter they are proud of this town!  From a location and branding standpoint it makes sense too--just look at Excelsior Brewing's popularity.  Bob mentions one of his main goals as "Bringing the craft beer experience to the area."  I think that is a wonderful ambition, and one I've been encouraging for several years as well through this blog and the Jack Of All Brews Homebrew Club.

When asked about the philosophy of the brewery, Peter and Bob both seem to agree that their main desire is to create a local taproom that has a very comfortable and community atmosphere.  They want the environment in the brewery to be relaxing and laid back, allowing people to get together to socialize in town.  They hope to have game or trivia nights and possibly host acoustic music from time to time.  I think this type of setting will certainly appeal to me, and will offer something not available in the current downtown Waconia bar scene.

But what about the beers?  Beer details are still up in the air a bit at this point, but the brothers do have some ideas on that front.  Peter is a homebrewer and loves hoppy styles, so they will need something with some hop character to satisfy him.  Bob is a big fan of double IPA and really wants one of those on tap, but also likes German Hefeweizens.  They hope to have a stable of 4-5 regular beers with another 5-6 rotating special beers for variety.  They will likely have a lighter style like a kolsch or a wheat beer to appeal to the craft beer newbies as well.  They do plan on hiring an experienced brewer as they get closer to opening, so if you know anyone who fits the bill, please pass this information on!  The small size of the brew system will allow them to experiment a bit and try new things--something I'm always a fan of.

After hanging out for an hour and half with these guys at my bar and sharing my homebrews, I have a good feeling about this venture.  Both Peter and Bob are personable, friendly and open to new ideas.  They have been working hard behind the scenes to make this dream a reality and are now ready to move on with the nuts and bolts of construction and with endless reams of paperwork.  This is why you will never see me quitting my day job to open a brewery!  I think the DeLanges have the right idea with their current business plan: the aim of appealing to the local taproom drinker with an assortment of well-crafted quality beers.

I appreciate these guys taking time out of their busy schedules to meet with me for this interview.  I hope that I'll be able to share more information about Waconia Brewing Company over the coming year, and look forward to sipping a pint of their beer and playing some Lords Of Waterdeep or Settlers of Catan at their taproom!  Head over to their Facebook page HERE and like them now!

Addendum 10/2014:  Waconia Brewing is open!  My initial impression is that these guys are on the right track.  I'll be writing up a more in-depth review when I get a chance.

The Beer Hunter Movie

This past weekend I was lucky enough to take part in a unique beer experience at Republic in 7 Corners:  the special screening of the newly released Beer Hunter the Movie.  Here is my impression of the movie and the event.

Using my classic Beer Hunter glass to show off the wicked event poster!

For those unaware of who Michael Jackson was (living in a beerless cave in Outer Mongolia maybe?) I'll start with a little background.  Jackson was truly one of the first serious writers to tackle the subject of beer in print, and was responsible for the publication of The World Guide to Beer in 1977--the first book of its kind.  Nowadays there are many sources for beer information from books to magazines to internet forums (and blogs of course), but back then the craft beer world was virtually non-existent and even classic beers like London Porter were nearly extinct.  Jackson raised awareness of these unusual beers and was one of the first to organize them into distinct styles.  He is often credited with saving styles of beer from obscurity and I wholeheartedly agree with this opinion.  Over time he had a hand in educating the public about old and new breweries, embracing the fledgling craft beer movement in the 1980's and giving some legitimacy to the early pioneers like Pike, Summit, and Anchor Brewing.

In the 1990's Jackson hosted a short-lived but very popular BBC series called The Beer Hunter, which strangely never warranted more seasons.  I remember seeing one of these episodes on PBS in the mid-90's and found myself watching it despite the fact that I didn't like drinking beer, and was underage at the time!  I had brewed a few batches of homebrew with my mom, however and enjoyed the science behind the brewing process.  Learning about the variety of styles and flavors on the show was intriguing to me.   At the tail end of college I was re-introduced to craft beer and began to homebrew again--learning what I could from Charlie Papazian's books and an old beat-up copy of the revised World Guide to Beer that I picked up at a used book store.  Again Michael Jackson had direct influence on me and my new interest and hobby.  He wrote a wonderful piece in that book about my favorite local brewpub Sherlock's Home, where I would eventually hold the rehearsal dinner for my wedding.  I remember them having signed copies of all his books proudly displayed over the bar that featured possibly the only hand-pulled beer engine in the US. 

The Beer Hunter movie began as a Kickstarter to publish some of Jackson's lost film footage and increase awareness of his life and influence on world beer culture.  Most of the footage used in the movie was taken from 2004-2007 during filming for a DVD for his Rare Beer Club that was never released.  As such the majority of the film involves his later years.  Several sponsors helped get this movie made including local beer giant Summit and The Four Firkins Beer Store.  Ian Finch and Michael Wagner (of the Firkins) were instrumental in bringing together this special screening of the movie at Republic and deserve a special thanks for their hard work, but all the guys from the store were certainly involved as well.  The back room of the bar/restaurant was used for the event, with a small screen placed up the stage for viewing.  There was a cheese plate to share (darn you lactose intolerance!) and we were served a small glass of Samuel Smiths Imperial Stout--one of Jackson's favorites and featured in the movie!  Republic had made a small menu with special menu items paired with beers from the movie as well--a nice touch.  The classic English beer Fullers London Pride was available with all the proceeds from that particular beer going to Parkinsons research.

Silent auction!

This screening was actually the second of the day, with the earlier show having finished just before Sarajo, Dave and myself arrived.  My friend Rob Wengler of Limited Release fame saw that show but wasn't able to stick around.  We also ran into Al Boyce and Doug Hoverson at our showing--always cool to run into friends at beer events!  Included as part of the festivities was a silent auction (proceeds also going to Parkinson's research) for each showing, including cool gift packages from Summit, The Firkins, Samuel Smith, Surly, A Perfect Pint, and many more.  Before the film was shown, Mark Stutrud, founder of Summit, gave a short and heartfelt talk about his own experiences with meeting Michael Jackson.  To see how much it meant to Mark to have his brewery featured in the Second Edition of the World Guide to Beer in those early days of his brewery was impressive and emotional.

Mark speaks about MJ as Ian looks on!

The movie itself was mostly footage from the last few years of his life, following him to The Czech Republic, Belgium, Ireland, California and of course England.  It was very interesting to see him still so involved in the then-growing beer scene: epic tastings at Dogfish Head, lectures, beer dinners, TV interviews, tours of breweries, etc.  The movie did a great job of capturing his life in those years and his subtle but strong personality.  It was a good documentary, but I would have appreciated a bit more from his earlier life and times.  There were a few moments when Jackson's personality shown through and the entire room laughed out loud, but overall the feel was somewhat melancholy.  I also felt that the long spots of silence in the film could have been relieved with some music, voice-over or editing down a bit.  What really struck me about the film and the screening was the event itself.  This was how Michael Jackson would want to be remembered--a group of beer-savvy people meeting over a few pints and being sociable with each other.  A lot of love went into the making of the film and to organizing this event, taking the whole thing to a higher level than simply watching a movie.

After the movie was finished the silent auction was finished up and we all had a toast to Michael Jackson with our freshly served Summit Great Northern Porter.  It was easy to get a bit choked up from the sad finale of the movie but again...hoisting a pint to the great man relieved a lot of that sadness.  This experience helped me personally to look back at the beginnings of my favorite hobby and realize just how far we have come since the 1970's when craft beer didn't even exist.  This blog only exists because of the groundwork laid long before I even cared to drink beer.  As humble as Mr. Jackson was, I think that his contribution to the craft beer revolution can not be understated.  I feel that he would be proud and excited to see the beer culture change so dramatically in the last few years.  I would recommend the movie, but if you watch it, get a bunch of people together, have a beer tasting and enjoy the moment. 

Tim Roets To Open Jordan Brewery!

This past year I broke the news of Enki brewing on this blog and have continued to follow their progress over time.  Now I have a second bit of big news for my readers!  Jack of All Brews member and award winning homebrewer Tim Roets is going Pro! Tim is in the process of opening a nanobrewery inside the 150 year old sandstone walls of the Historic Jordan Brewery in Jordan, MN!  He was kind enough to give me first dibs on scooping the story, so here goes:

Seriously, did they even have cameras back then?

The Jordan Brewery is on the Historic Registry and has a long and storied past--a perfect place to put in a new working brewery!  From Doug Hoverson's Land of Amber Waters (the definitive history book of brewing in Minnesota,) I was able to dig up a bit of information on the brewery.  The larger of two breweries in the city of Jordan, the brewery itself was opened in 1866 by Frank Nicolin and Sebastian Gehring, soon becoming the largest brewery between the Twin Cities and New Ulm.  There were several ownership changes over time resulting in upgraded facilities like a bottling line and creation of an extensive network of caves carved into the stone bluff behind the brewery.  In 1902 Peter Hilgers took over the brewery, adding electricity and further expanding the distribution of the beer.  He was known to visit his local accounts to make sure that the quality was to his taste, often using a horse-drawn beer sleigh during his travels.

Modern day!

During Prohibition the brewery was converted to a chicken hatchery, but returned as a brewery in 1934.  Distribution reached across Minnesota and seven other states at this time!  There were several more ownership changes with the brewery eventually being purchased by Mankato Brewing Company to expand their production, but was closed shortly after.  Jordan beers continued to be produced in Mankato for a while and even bottled in Chicago for a short period.  After closing down the building returned to a chicken hatchery until damaged by fire.  In the 1990's the building was renovated by Gail Andersen into apartments and retail space.  Which brings us up to our current time-line!

Let me give a bit of background on Tim Roets.  I met Tim only two years ago when he won Best Of Show at Byggvir's Big Beer Cup (I was running the Renaissance Festival homebrew competition that year.)  I had Tim out to my basement bar to claim his prizes and immediately felt that I had discovered an old friend.  I am still shocked that we have only known each other for such a short period since it feels like I've known him for a decade or more!  Tim has been brewing since the early 1980's--in fact he has shown me a newspaper article he wrote on homebrewing back then.

A celebratory toast to Tim's new venture!

He has had many careers in his life so far, ranging from newspaper reporter/critic,  furniture/design pro, retail consultant, stay-at-home dad, and soon, professional brewer.  Throughout it all he has continued to return to his hobby of homebrewing, continually experimenting with new techniques and flavors.  He has made lagers, ales, sour beers, ciders, and even meads.  He started putting his concoctions into competitions a few years ago in order to get feedback from beer judges, and quickly discovered that he was raking in the medals for doing so.  He has won multiple medals at the Upper Mississippi Mash Out (one of the biggest competitions in the nation) including the taking home the coveted Eis-Anything trophy for two years running.  He's won two Minnesota State Fair blue ribbons (among others), and recently had a whopping five beers make it to the second round of the National Homebrewer's Competition in Philadelphia (the biggest homebrew competition in the world.)  

He is a bit melancholy that this is the last year he will be able to compete, but he can always play with the big boys and try to win some GABF medals...and ironically, the GABF Pro-Am will be his last homebrew contest.  A catalyst for his going pro, Tim's prize for his repeat Byggvir BOS in 2012 gave him a chance to scale up his homebrewed Kolsch at Town Hall Brewery with Mike Hoops, then travel with him as they enter it in the big show in Denver this October!  As Tim always says...great reason to enter homebrew contests!  That beer will be on tap soon, likely for the Byggvir awards at the end of August. (Check HERE for details on the brew day.)

How to describe Tim?  In a word: Intensity!  But that alone doesn't do him justice.  He is a man who has been in sales much of his life and knows how to talk to people.  His excitement about a subject is infectious and nearly palpable.  He does nothing by half-degrees.  When he grills, he doesn't throw a couple burgers on, he spends all day smoking a huge pork shoulder on Jamaican pimento wood and serving up jerked pork and chicken for 30 people.  When he makes a mead he isn't content to take what he gets--he tinkers with it, blending, fruiting, spicing to get a plethora of unique one-off beverages.  This intensity and single-mindedness will serve him well in his future career.  Tim is gregarious and inclusive--one of the most giving and people I know!  When he jumped in and took over as Secretary of Jack Of All Brews he promptly injected some of his energy into our group and pushed us to try some new things.  Infectious I tell you! 

Only two days ago Tim dropped this bomb on me.  He has been quietly working on this plan over the past month, not wanting to publicise it until he was sure things would work out... and if you know Tim, quiet isn't easy for him!  In fact I was thinking that something was wrong since he had been so under the radar over the past month or so!  Last night he invited Sj and myself out to the brewery for a tour.  He cracked open a bottle of Steel Toe Lunker to commemorate the visit, as the idea was hatched--Jason had no idea--in Steel Toe's taproom just weeks prior with fellow Jabber and Jordanian Jeff Malek.  A fine Minnesota brew to sip while wandering about the prestigious old place.

At this point in the game, Tim will occupy the first floor of the building and has been working on cleaning up the brew space.  The property has been well cared for by the current owner and isn't requiring as much infrastructure investment as I thought it would.  Nearly the entire place has 30 inch thick sandstone brick walls hewn from the excavation of the caves.with some smaller clay brick dressing around doorways and fireplace.  A huge old chimney starts on the ground floor and towers over the building itself.Tim is currently sourcing tile for the brewhouse floor and getting ready to install drainage.  He'll be working with the city and the landlord in the next few weeks with a goal of beginning the application process by the end of August--an outside chance there could be beer brewing in '13!  He has been working with lighting and color palattes as well, in order to furnish the space and accentuate the incredible architectural details of the building.

He literally shines when discussing his ideas for renovating the old building and restoring it to its proper glory.  He hopes to upgrade the doors and install stained glass windows, as well as put in a bar for the tasting room side of things.  He feels that this opportunity to work with such a piece of history is his primary calling, and making beer here again after more than 60 years is simply a bonus!  He showed us the entry to cave system, filled with a waist deep crystal clear water that remains a steady 42-48 degrees year round.  While pumping the caves dry would be a losing battle, there is talk of building a deck above and lighting to display the cave system...perhaps even putting it to its original use: lagering beer!

Let us talk beer, you and I.  As mentioned before, Tim is a fantastic brewer.  His initial brewing goals are modest.  He wants to start with a small 2-4 barrel system he is designing with the help of perennial JAB award winner Wayne Doucette, with the aim of making a constantly rotating small batch line-up of beers.  For his style and personality I think this the right tack.  Having to produce a huge quantity of a flagship beer would quickly take a lot of the joy from the brewing process for him.  He has room to expand in the future if needed, especially if he can make use of those lagering caves.  I'm hoping he will eventually branch out and make ciders and meads, since they are one of his personal strengths--but walk before you run!  While brewing on the property before licencing goes through is not an option, Tim has taken some of the local water back home to Chaska and brewed a few batches with it already to familiarize himself with its properties.  He had me sample a classic German Alt that is young but already bursting with noble hop and melanoidin flavors.  While he leads the renovation at the brewery, Tim also plans to refine his recipes with the Jordan water and experiment with small conical fermenters/yeast culturing offsite in Jeff Malek's basement brewhouse down the road.

The new Jordan Brewery will be a small family business, aimed at supplying the locals with fresh locally made beer.  Tim has opened well over 50 retail businesses in his career, and his wife Steff Sanders brings her financial and legal experience to the table.  Together, they bring considerable business acumen to the venture.  Tim's sons Dylan and P.J. will be lending their young backs and experience in food/beverage service, and stepchildren Jack and Izzy will be soda tasters--truly a family affair.

Tim is currently putting his beloved BMW 3-series up for a quick--it screams to over 150 mph and is priced well below Blue Book to move, he'll tell you!--to help fund the process.  (He'll want to buy it back from you after he sells his first 500 barrels!) A Kickstarter campaign to help fund the taproom and furnishings will take place in the coming month or so.  I'll provide details and links when the Kickstarter is live, and plan on supporting him there as well.

I'm still a bit shocked that my friend is taking this plunge, but I think it will be a great venture for him and his family over the next few years.  This process will bring renewal and business to the city of Jordan and I'm excited about the move back to pre-prohibition days of most small towns having their own brewery (Victoria, Shakopee, Minnetonka, etc.) I can't wait to see how all this pans out! 

UPDATE!  Since I still get a lot of folks checking out this now historical page, I thought I would add a link to Tim's brewery website so people can follow his progress.  Check it out HERE.